Family
by Katsumi Sinclair
Summary: Rin becomes curious about Lord Sesshomaru's own family.


A nine-year-old girl sat on the dirty ground of a forest, humming contently to herself as her hands delicately weaved the stems of flowers into a crown. She had dark brown hair, a sliver of it pulled up into a short ponytail. Her brown eyes were wide with childlike innocence, though the little girl could be quite cunning at times. She wore nothing but an orange and yellow checkered kimono, made from rich material, indicating that her caretaker expected nothing but the finest. Her bare feet were tucked beneath her. This young child was referred to by the name of Rin.

It was during this content moment that Rin's thought's wondered off as they so often did, but this time her thoughts were not pleasant. She was brought back to thinking about her family; her mother, father, and two brothers, all of whom were dead, having died only two years ago after being brutally murdered by bandits. She never cried when she thought about them, she simply missed them, is all.

These thoughts of her family triggered some thoughts about her Lord Sesshomaru's own family. The man never spoke of them before to her. He never spoke of much, really, being a man of little words. She knew that he was the Lord of the Western Lands and that his family must be just as important as he, but she knew nothing else about them. This made Rin very curious and she turned her attention from her flowers to a short, green toad creature standing just a few feet away.

Jaken had traveled with Sesshomaru for a long time, much longer than she, perhaps he could give her answers to her questions. "Master Jaken?" Rin called out, crawling over to the grumpy toad youkai from her spot.

"What is it, you insufferable girl?" Jaken replied, clearly not in the mood to converse with her, but when was he ever?

Rin sat next to him by the fire where he was busy tending to their food for the evening. "Lord Sesshomaru has parents, doesn't he?"

"Well, of course he does, you idiot. What, did you think just because he's a demon that he doesn't?"

Rin shrugged. "I dunno, I'm not a demon." Jaken glanced over at her with his peripheral sight. _Of course not, just an annoying human of which I do not understand Lord Sesshomaru's attachment to._ He thought silently to himself. "If Lord Sesshomaru has parents, does he also have siblings?" She inquired.

"Lord Sesshomaru has but one sibling, but he is not important. Quit asking so many questions."

Rin gasped. "Lord Sesshomaru has a brother? Is he older or younger? Is he alive? Who is he?"

Jaken could feel himself getting more and more irritated with every question she asked. "What did I just say?!" He shouted at her.

Rin began to whine. "But, Master Jaken, I want to know more about Lord Sesshomaru!"

"It doesn't matter, it's not like he's keeping you around long anyway!"

"That's not true!"

"How do you know?!" Jaken sneered. "He could be planning to dump you at the next village we come across!"

"Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't leave me!" Rin defended, glaring at the imp. "Why can't you just tell me about Lord Sesshomaru's family?"

Jaken crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from her. "Because it's nothing you need to concern yourself with, insolent child."

"But Rin wants to know, Master Jaken! Please, tell me about Lord Sesshomaru's family!"

Jaken grew silent for a few seconds before letting out a deep sigh. He looked back at Rin, a glare on his face. "I know not of Lord Sesshomaru's mother but that she is currently alive. His father, however, has been deceased for many a year, two-hundred to be exact. And, that wretched Inuyasha is the Lord's younger half-brother. Are you satisfied now?"

Rin didn't give a response, too surprised by the information she had just learned. She'd seen Inuyasha before, but she couldn't believe they were brothers. And to think that they hated each other so! Then, there was the aspect of Sesshomaru's father. How her Lord must have felt when his father passed! Why, if he were here at this very moment, she would confront him about it, but Lord Sesshomaru had set off for the night. To where she did not know, but what she did know was that when he got back, she had a lot of questions to ask him.

She had to wait though, as per usual when her Lord ventured off at night, he usually wouldn't return until morning, so Rin resigned herself to having to wait a little longer. When Jaken finished their food, she ate and then nestled herself close to the campfire for warmth as she allowed herself to fall into slumber for the night.

The next morning when she awoke, Jaken and Ah-Un remained asleep. Her Lord was nowhere in the vicinity, indicating that he had yet to return. Rin grabbed an apple from the bag on Ah-Un's back, careful not to disturb the two-headed dragon's sleep. She munched on her apple while she awaited Sesshomaru's return.

She did not have to wait very long, though, as he appeared from within the forest just as she finished her breakfast. The sun shone bright in the sky, reflecting off his long white tresses. His fur pelt, slung over his right shoulder wafted behind him, almost long enough to reach the ground. His armor sparkled at the sun's rays and his red and white haori billowed softly in the wind, the left sleeve fluttering farther back because of a lack of an arm. His golden eyes settled on her form sitting against the tree as he approached, his face devoid of emotion, as usual. "Lord Sesshomaru, you've returned!" She exclaimed, jumping up to greet him.

"Wake Jaken and let's be going." He replied simply, his voice monotone, something Rin was used to by now.

"Yes, my Lord!" He continued walking east and Rin hurriedly woke Jaken so that they would not be left behind. Her questions she intended to ask him were temporarily forgotten in light of her happiness of his return. They walked eastward for a good hour before Rin even remembered. She ran forward enough to catch up to his stride, now walking beside him. He did not give any indication to her sudden presence. "Lord Sesshomaru, what happened to your father?" She asked, her tone filled with nothing but innocent curiosity.

Without moving his head, he glanced down at her and then back in front of him. "Why do you ask such a question?" He inquired instead.

Before Rin could give a response, Jaken's shrill voice interrupted. "Why, I can't believe you would ask Lord Sesshomaru such a senseless question! Who do you think you are?!"

"Jaken." Sesshomaru's cold voice made Jaken quiet immediately.

The toad youkai stuttered nervously. "M-my apologies, milord." He backed away, leaving Rin and Sesshomaru a few feet ahead.

Rin answered as if she hadn't just been interrupted. "Well, Lord Sesshomaru never speaks of his family and Rin wanted to know more about Lord Sesshomaru!"

Were it anyone else, especially any other human, Sesshomaru would not have even thought about answering that question as it was none of their concern. Nor was it Rin's either, but he knew that the girl would continue to pester him about it, and for some reason unbeknownst to him, he felt that he didn't mind telling her. "He is no longer of this world." He replied evenly.

"How did he die?" Rin asked, her curiosity growing even more.

Sesshomaru was quite surprised with himself when the words tumbled out of his mouth easily. "He was foolish."

Rin tilted her head to the side questionably. "How so?"

"He fought a strong demon and was injured." Sesshomaru began. "He only died because of his impulsivity and desire for a human." The word human was spoken with slight malice to it, indicating Sesshomaru's clear disdain for the race.

"A human?"

"His injuries were far from healing when he engaged himself in combat again. The man was brash." That was all that Sesshomaru intended on telling Rin about his father. Her next question confirmed that she knew that.

"Then, what about your mother?"

"She resides in the Western Lands." He responded easily.

Sesshomaru wasn't surprised when Rin asked another question. "And Inuyasha is your younger brother?"

He glanced down at her for a brief second, wondering how she knew that, and then quickly realized that it must have been Jaken. "Yes."

Rin frowned. "If you're brothers, then why do you fight so much? Do you hate him?"

At that moment, Jaken decided to rear his ugly head again. "Of course he does! Who could like that annoying hanyou anyway?!"

Sesshomaru remained silent. Rin placed her hands behind her back, absently wringing them together. "Oh…" She responded softly, sounding disappointed. Another question plagued her mind, pulling her out of her disappointment. She smiled up at Sesshomaru. "Lord Sesshomaru?"

If she asked another question after this one, Sesshomaru was going to order her to remain silent for the rest of the day. "What is it?" He asked, his tone hardly giving away the irritation he was beginning to feel.

Rin seemed to hesitate a moment before asking. "Is Rin family too?"

Sesshomaru spared her an emotionless look and said nothing in return. Rin grinned at the lack of a response. He didn't have to tell her, she already knew.


End file.
